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  #21  
Old September 19th, 2005, 04:28 PM
Jens Arne Maennig
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The Reids wrote:

I assume you don't speak all European languages?


Plus a some thousand dialects.

Reminds me of again.

Jens
  #22  
Old September 19th, 2005, 05:05 PM
Mxsmanic
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The Reids writes:

are you offering, Mixi?


I'm not an EU national.

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  #23  
Old September 19th, 2005, 06:38 PM
EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque)
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Mxsmanic wrote:

EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque) writes:


You have to ASK?????? (I've been sorely tempted, too, in
view of our current government - but at my age there are too
many potential problems.)



If you have the financial means to retire, Europe can be an attractive
place to do it.


I don't even have the "financial means" to retire here in
the U.S.! Europe would add the need for health insurance -
Medicare and my "Medigap" insurance won't cover me
anywhere but here (and I could hardly expect to benefit from
another country's "National Health" plan when I've never
worked or paid taxes there, and am not a citizen). Also,
I''m nowhere near fluent in any language but English, and
it's much harder to become so when one is elderly.

  #24  
Old September 19th, 2005, 06:44 PM
EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque)
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Juliana L Holm wrote:

One of my favorites is the backpackers note not to wear jeans in europe sinde
you will be identified as an American. On my last few trips to europe it
seemed everyone was wearing jeans!


I've certainly seen "designer" jeans on plenty of young
people in Paris and Vienna and Brussels! (Jusging from the
variety of languages I overheard them speaking, they were
definitely NOT Americans.)

  #25  
Old September 19th, 2005, 06:51 PM
EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque)
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Rita wrote:


I think all advice on what to wear or not wear while traveling in
Europe is dumb. From my observations, Europeans dress every which
way and there is no standard to adhere to. Neat and clean is good
wherever one travels, and beyond that, suit yourself. Dressing for
comfort and packing light are good rules to follow and I like clothing
that can stand up without frequent laundering, but
that's a personal preference. Personally I'd rule out jeans because
they are bulky and also slow to dry if you have to wash them out.
But again, a personal preference.


And if you don't want to be recognized as being American,
you'd have to keep your mouth shut for the entire trip!
It's the accent, not the wardrobe - although I have been
asked if I were English, a few times. (Apparently the
difference between an English and an American accent are not
quite so obvious to French and German-speakers as they are
to Yanks and Brits.)

  #26  
Old September 19th, 2005, 06:53 PM
EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque)
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Tim Challenger wrote:

On Mon, 19 Sep 2005 13:37:59 GMT, Rita wrote:


I like clothing that can stand up without frequent laundering,



just like most of my clothes when I was a student ... ;-)



Ummmm.... I THINK she meant "remain wearable", not "stand
alone" 8-)

  #27  
Old September 19th, 2005, 06:55 PM
EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque)
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The Reids wrote:

Following up to Mxsmanic


The fastest way to obtain the right to live in Europe is to marry a
European national.



are you offering, Mixi? This could be a way forward for you.



But Mixi is an American ex-pat - even with a residence
permit, I don't think that qualifies, does it?

  #28  
Old September 19th, 2005, 07:07 PM
chancellor of the duchy of besses o' th' barn and
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EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque) wrote:

Mxsmanic wrote:

EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque) writes:


You have to ASK?????? (I've been sorely tempted, too, in
view of our current government - but at my age there are too
many potential problems.)



If you have the financial means to retire, Europe can be an attractive
place to do it.


I don't even have the "financial means" to retire here in
the U.S.! Europe would add the need for health insurance -


No, it wouldn't necessarily add that. See below.

Medicare and my "Medigap" insurance won't cover me
anywhere but here (and I could hardly expect to benefit from
another country's "National Health" plan when I've never
worked or paid taxes there, and am not a citizen).


Once you become a legal resident in the EEA, you will typically be
eligible to use the health service in the country where you reside. (Is
there any EEA country where this doesn't apply, out of interest?)

The UK NHS is a good case in point. When you move here, you register
with a local health centre, and are usually appointed a specific doctor.
You're asked simply for your address. Even foreign students can benefit
from this. When I moved back to the UK after over a decade in the US,
all I had to do was say where I lived. Same thing with my partner when
he moved here from the US. IOW, there was no 'test' as to the right to
live in the country. By and large, the NHS doesn't care. There is
inevitably a little (and I think it's a _very_ little) health 'tourism'
in the UK, but the way the NHS operates, it provides services to you
when you live here. I wouldn't worry about never having "worked or paid
taxes here." That's the way the world works- people move, but the health
care systems in Europe tend to be viewed (correctly IMO) as a right, not
a privilege.

Anyway, rather than see yourself as burden to the health system or the
state, you should view yourself as a gift to the country you choose to
retire to. You will be supporting the local economy through paying rent,
buying food etc., and presumably attending the occasional opera
performance!

--
David Horne- http://www.davidhorne.net
usenet (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk
photos at http://homepage.mac.com/davidhornecomposer
  #29  
Old September 19th, 2005, 07:09 PM
Mxsmanic
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EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque) writes:

... and I could hardly expect to benefit from
another country's "National Health" plan when I've never
worked or paid taxes there, and am not a citizen ...


Why not?

Also, I''m nowhere near fluent in any language but English, and
it's much harder to become so when one is elderly.


Age is not an impediment to the acquisition of additional languages.

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  #30  
Old September 19th, 2005, 07:16 PM
Juliana L Holm
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"EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque)" wrote:

And if you don't want to be recognized as being American,
you'd have to keep your mouth shut for the entire trip!
It's the accent, not the wardrobe - although I have been
asked if I were English, a few times. (Apparently the
difference between an English and an American accent are not
quite so obvious to French and German-speakers as they are
to Yanks and Brits.)


I want to be recognized as an American. For one thing, I want the extra
leeway that you get as an American when you speak a language pretty good, but
not perfect. Same as I give non-native English speakers. Everyone makes
mistakes, and I know I will, but I'd be terrified to speak if I thought
everyone would hate me for my mistakes!

Plus I think I am very different from what people expect from an American. I
see myself as a citizen of the world as much as a U.S. Citizen. I strive to
keep up with non-american world news (and yes, from non-american news sources
where I can.) I really want people I meet to know that there is a different
side to the United States, and not judge us monolithically.

But I still won't wear trainers on the street. Though that is largely because
I don't want to dirty up any gym I work out in.


--
Julie
**********
Check out the blog of my 9 week Germany adventure at www.blurty.com/users/jholm
Check out my Travel Pages (non-commercial) at
http://www.dragonsholm.org/travel.htm
 




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